Neftci Baku vs Olympiacos

Neftci Baku and Olympiacos are set to trade tackles at Bakcell Arena in the return leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.

A 1-0 first-leg loss in Greece means each of Neftci’s three Champions League qualifiers this season saw the winner prevail by a single goal margin (W2, L1), with the opener in two of them coming within 30 minutes of play. Interestingly, none of Neftci’s nine competitive home matches this calendar year have ended as a draw (W7, L2), with the ‘Oil Workers’ winning the last three in a row by an aggregate scoreline of 7-1. Notably, Neftci’s cagey entries on home soil have seen them keep a first-half clean sheet in seven of their nine competitive games here in 2021. Taking friendly fixtures into account, four of the Azerbaijani side’s last five outings have yielded the identical 2-1 scoreline (W3, L2), with two of those encounters seeing the victor come from behind to pick up the win.

On the other hand, the visitors’ extensive preparation campaign saw them amass five victories from seven friendlies (D1, L1) before the first-leg success at home. Additionally, Olympiacos are unbeaten across their last six Champions League qualifiers on foreign soil (W4, D2). Having that said, the ‘Thrylos’ had been on a four-match winless streak away from home (D3, L1) before claiming an overwhelming 4-1 triumph over bitter rivals Panathinaikos in their most recent competitive road trip. Notably, Pedro Martins’ men have scored two more goals against Panathinaikos than in their previous four competitive travels combined. At the other end of the pitch, Olympiacos have conceded under 1.5 goals in nine of their last ten away matches in all competitions, highlighting the potential for a cagey affair.